SJCN students earn speech awards

Published 6:00 pm, Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Since Floyd McConnell ac-cepted the position of full-time speech professor at San Jacinto College North, a winning tradition has begun. His students have netted several awards for their efforts including a trip to the Phi Rho Pi National Forensics Tournament.

"I want to help students to do the best they can do," McConnell said. "It's not the winning that matters - it's the fact that they succeed."

McConnell took the reins of his new position and created a Speech Forensics team in September of 2005.

Immediately, the North Campus team earned third place in the school sweepstakes in the Houston Area League of Forensics at Kingwood College. In February, the team traveled to Tarrant County Community College to participate in the Texas Community College Speech and Theatre Association State Tournament and again took home 17 individual awards including a third place sweepstakes for speech events.

Recently, the team entered the Phi Rho Pi Region VI Championship Tournament. Kasey Riess of Crosby took first place as Top Speaker; Josh Araujo of the North Channel area was first in Dramatic Interpretation. Riess and Araujo will travel to Kansas City, KS in April to compete in the Phi Rho Pi National Competition.

"The competition drives me," Riess said. "Debating is all mental. It's a competition of the mind. You sometimes have to think fast on your feet, and I feel well prepared in Mr. McConnell's class."

Araujo views speech as being extremely beneficial in various aspects of life.

"It can help with job interviews, networking or just simply helping with nervousness when talking with people," Araujo said.

Araujo was a student of McConnell at North Shore High School. It was a natural transition for him when he enrolled at the North Campus.

"I have gone further than I ever expected," Araujo said. "Mr. McConnell has been a good teacher and mentor to me. He saw something in me in high school, and when I came to San Jac, I decided to stay with him."

McConnell knows how a speech class can inspire someone - he was a San Jac student himself in 1991, attending speech classes, as well as being a member of the Forensics Team at the Central Campus.

"Forensics was life changing for myself," McConnell said. "Now I want students to have a life changing experience in which they can recognize later in life."

Other students participating in the North Campus forensics program are Aja Anderson, David LeBleu, Christian Vega, Chase Ables and Kurtis Dumas. All of these students have also contributed to the success of this program.

McConnell has a bachelor's degree in Speech from Texas A&M University, and a master's in speech from Stephen F. Austin State University.